Just A Dream
by prplerayne
Summary: Danny and Lindsay are still caught up in the nightmare of Shane Casey. But what kind of nightmare is it? Read to find out! One shot. WARNING: Character death…or is there?


Just a Dream

A/N: I came up with this idea from what Lindsay said at the end about losing Danny. I know it's been awhile since I wrote anything, but the muse has been fickle amongst all the craziness going on in my life lately. However, this idea just wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it! I'm having a really bad RA flare right now and am sidelined with a broken leg, so any reviews would make me super duper happy!

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: NY or any of its characters. If I did, Shane Casey would have made an audible splat when he fell from the lighthouse. The previous sentence in no way reflects my feelings about Edward Furlong, because I love him, really I do, but Shane Casey is a slimy little bastard.

"I'm not sure how much longer we can keep doing this. I'm tired of feeling like I've lost you."

"Hey," he shushed her and kissed her forehead, "I'm right here. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"I promise," he held her to him just a little bit closer, as if the gesture could erase any lingering fears about losing him from her mind and heart. Still, his instincts told him he needed to comfort her further. When she looked up at him from the spot where her head lay on his chest his lips moved to cover hers in a gentle, comforting kiss that lasted only a moment before they broke apart. Their lips met again in another kiss more solid than the first; wordlessly conveying that she needed him there with her. She needed him to be there through all the good times and the bad. She needed him around to share all the joys and difficulties of raising their daughter. Danny was her rock, and she wasn't sure what would happen if his unwavering strength was suddenly ripped away from her. Forrest Gump said it best when he said, "Jenny and me, we was like peas and carrots," except Lindsay didn't care much for peas and Danny didn't like carrots. No, he and Lindsay were more like peanut butter and jelly; they went together so well that it seemed as if each was made with the other in mind. Breaking the kiss, Lindsay settled back onto his chest, closing her eyes and letting his steady breathing and the sensation of his fingers trailing lightly up and down her shoulder settle her into what she hoped would be a restful sleep.

Almost as soon as he fell asleep, Danny was jerked from a deep sleep by a frightened wail coming from his daughter's room. Having heard the same cry come from the little girl in recent months when she'd had a nightmare, his logical brain told him that is why she was crying; but given what they had just gone through at the beach, his senses immediately went on high alert and he quickly arose from the bed and headed towards her room. Looking back to see Lindsay still sound asleep, the dedicated husband and father noticed that it was now well into the evening, instead of mid-afternoon as it had been when the family settled down for a long overdue nap.

'_It doesn't feel like I've been asleep that long,'_ he thought as he headed towards his daughters room; the initial wail turning into a steady sob, "Here I come baby, here I come," he mumbled in a groggy tone as he turned on the bedroom light to see what was going on.

"Hello," Shane Casey said in that tone of his that was creepy yet sort of cheerful all at the same time. In his right arm he held a frightened Lucy, while his left pointed a gun at Danny.

Lindsay couldn't explain why she jerked awake so suddenly, but when she saw that Danny's side of the bed was empty and felt the space where he had previously been was still warm from his body, she rose to search for him. She figured he was in Lucy's room, but she hadn't heard the young girl wake up, which was strange. Since becoming a mother she also became a light sleeper, keeping an ear out for Lucy, so to not hear her child wake up was out of the ordinary to say the least.

"Oh my god," was the only thing Danny had a chance to say before a gunshot rang out.

Lindsay had come far enough down the hall that she could see Danny standing in the doorway of the nursery where the light was on. She had opened her mouth to get his attention when she heard the loud pop of the gun going off and, seconds later, Danny collapsed on the floor.

"Danny," his name came out in a strangled scream as she rushed towards his body, with the blood pool expanding beneath it. It wasn't until she got thrown back against the wall with enough force that she immediately crumpled to the floor, the presence of another person in the apartment registered in her brain. As Lindsay struggled not to black out from the combination of the pain caused by her back hitting the wall and the sudden force of the impact forcing the air from her lungs and momentarily paralyzing them, the sound of the front door slamming vaguely registered in her brain…as did the retreating cry of a child.

"Danny! Danny," she called his name as she crawled across the floor and rolled his sweaty, limp body over so she could see his ashen face and the vacant look in his eyes. "Dan. Danny, honey look at me," she patted his cheek, realizing with horror that he felt very much like Kelly did when Lindsay touched her that night in the diner, after exiting the bathroom once the shooter had fled.

"Lindsay," he managed to rasp despite the blood that was clogging his air way; killing him.

"Babe, I'm here. I'm right here. You're going to be okay. Just hold on," she pleaded and started to rise so she could get to the phone and call for help

Weakly, he grabbed her hand, keeping her in place. "I love you," he mouthed before coughing up a lung full of blood and lying limp on the floor in the doorway of his daughter's bedroom.

"Danny," Lindsay could hardly believe what was happening. It had all started out with them going on what was supposed to be a nice, family vacation and now her daughter had been taken by a madman and Danny was dead. "Danny! Danny," she became hysterical as the gravity of the situation started to set in.

"Lindsay! Lindsay," Danny shook his wife who was becoming hysterical in her sleep. He'd first woken when he felt her begin to fret next to him, but decided not to wake her right away in hopes that the dream would fade and she would drift back off.

"Danny! No, no, no, no, no! Don't die. We need you. Lucy and I need you. Don't die; please don't die," she pleaded as she clung to his shirt, not realizing that she was awake.

"I'm not dead baby, I'm not dead. Shhh. It's okay. You're okay. I'm here, don't you worry about a thing," he soothed as she calmed enough to allow him to pull her into a hug.

"He's alive. He got into the apartment and he took Lucy. You tried to stop him and he shot you! You died right in front of me," she recounted her dream, Danny rubbing soothing circles on her back as her hysteria at the prospect of losing him began to resurface.

"Linds, honey. Lindsay Messer, look at me," he said her married name more forcefully as he cupped her cheeks forcing her red and watery eyes to meet clear and convincing ones. "I'm not dead. Shane can't hurt us anymore; he died when he fell from the lighthouse."

"How can you be so sure," she jumped in the minute he finished talking. "His body hasn't been found, and nothing seems to stop that guy. How can you be so sure he died?"

"Because, if anyone was in this apartment we would know it, and we'd do something about it," before she could start her infamous 'what ifs' Danny continued on. "There are special locks on the windows in Lucy's room, right?" When she nodded in affirmation to that fact, he continued, "and if anyone were to open them, from the inside or the outside, they would alarm to let us know, right?" Again, she nodded starting to feel the panic of that psycho having her daughter fade as Danny's logic took its place. "And if he came in the front door, he would step right on that creaky floor panel right," he referenced the spot on the floor that woke Lindsay many nights when he had come in late from work. She nodded. "And then there's the fact that he's not the stealthiest guy out there. If he were to try and sneak into a third story apartment, I'm sure someone would notice and find it a bit odd."

"This is New York Danny. How many crime scenes have you been too where everyone in the area goes temporarily blind at the same time and sees nothing," she made an attempt at humor by referencing one of the most frustrating aspects of their jobs." He responded by chuckling and pressing a kiss to her forehead as she moved to get out of bed, noting that it was still daylight out and not the middle of the night like it had been in her dream.

"Where you going," Danny asked, getting up to follow her anyway.

"To check on Lucy," she stated simply.

"Babe, she's fine. It was just a bad dream."

"I know, but physically seeing her would make me feel better," Lindsay wiped the remnants of tears from her face as she entered her daughter's room only to see the toddler sitting in her crib, babbling to the stuffed dog that was her constant companion now.

Upon seeing her parents in her room, Lucy stopped her baby chatter and stood up, holding on to the railing for support. "My mommy," she squealed happy and pointed to Lindsay who lifted the child out of her crib.

"My Lucy," she replied kissing the child on the nose and stroking the fine blond hair.

The little girl stared at her mother intently for a moment, tilting her head to the side and pursing her lips as if she were thinking about something. "Mommy sad," she stated as she looked towards her father with the innocent childlike expectation that he would fix whatever was wrong with Lindsay.

"I'm okay kiddo. It was just a dream."

"Bad dream," she said, her 'r' coming out more like a 'w'.

"It's gone now baby. Do you want to go finish your nap with mommy? Would you like that? You can sleep in the big bed," she cooed to her daughter already heading back towards the master bedroom with Danny in tow, objecting.

"What happened to the 'no kids in our bed' rule? I thought we agreed that once she started sleeping through the night then she'd sleep in her own room; and the only time a kid would be in our bed would be because it was growing in your belly or you were nursing. You're not currently pregnant, and she's been weaned since she was three months old and you returned to work full time."

"Yeah, well when I have a dream that involves your death and her kidnapping, that rule is temporarily suspended," Lindsay quipped back as Danny's phone rang. While she tucked a still sleepy Lucy into bed with her, she realized that she'd only been asleep a little more than an hour when she'd woken up, Danny answered his ringing phone.

"Messer," he gave his standard greeting. "Hi Mac. Yeah, we got a little sleep, but Linds had a dream so everyone is just settling back down from that. No, she's alright; I just think not having Casey's body to prove he's dead still has us on edge." He paused; listening to what their boss was telling him while Lindsay held Lucy against her side and anxiously tried to figure out what was going on. "It's definitely him; are you sure," he asked glancing over at his wife and daughter. "Yeah, yeah. No, its okay, I'll tell her. Okay, we will. I'll call you tomorrow. Bye," Danny hung up the phone then went to sit next to Lindsay, being sure not to disturb his daughter whom had already fallen back to sleep, as tired as she was.

"Danny, what is it? It's Shane Casey, isn't it," she answered her own question before he had a chance to.

"They found him. His body washed up on shore in Jersey. He's dead Linds. It's over," he gingerly reached over and kissed her before whispering, "Let's get some sleep and put this all behind us. Everything he's done is between him and his own personal god now." Danny pulled the duvet back over the three occupants in the bed, thanking whatever god was out there that he and his family could start fresh tomorrow. Who knows, maybe one day there would even be another beach vacation. Maybe that vacation would involve another family member. Danny stretched his arm out across Lucy and rested his hand on Lindsay's hip, smiling at her briefly before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep, certain that there would be a future for them. He told Lindsay he wasn't going anywhere, and he meant it with all his hard and soul.

END


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